JPH07135539A - Facsimile equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a small sized facsimile equipment by reducing the height while applying thermal countermeasure for a facsimile equipment main body 11. CONSTITUTION:An electrophotography recording system printer section 41 is arranged in a facsimile equipment main body 11. A development section 71 and a fixing section 72 are arranged along a printing path 73 led to a discharge port 23 of a side face of the facsimile equipment main body 11 in the printer section 41. An original read section 42 is arranged above the printing path 73 between the fixing section 72 and the discharge port 23 of the printer section 41 at the side of the fixing section 72. An original guide 92 guiding an original to the original read section 42 is provided with a shield section 92b shielding the printer section 41 and the original read section 42.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a facsimile apparatus adopting an electrophotographic recording system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as shown in FIG. 4, for example, a facsimile apparatus adopting an electrophotographic recording system has a paper feed cassette 2 for accommodating regular regular recording paper such as a facsimile body 1 and A4, an electrophotographic recording system. The printer unit 3, the document reading unit 4, the operation surface unit 5, and other main constituent elements.

The printer unit 3 forms a electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 6b by irradiation from the optical unit 6a and transfers the toner attached to the electrostatic latent image onto the recording sheet. The printer has a fixing unit 7 for fixing toner, and has a larger size than a thermal recording type printer.

A paper feed cassette 2 is arranged at the bottom of the facsimile body 1, a printer unit 3 is arranged above the paper feed cassette 2, and a document reading unit 4 is arranged above the printer unit 3 (see FIG. In the illustrated example, the operation surface portion 5 is arranged on the upper surface of the facsimile main body 1 above the fixing portion 7.

The flow a of the recording paper at the time of printing is printed while the recording paper is fed from the paper feed cassette 2 to the right in the drawing and sent to the printer unit 3 and is conveyed to the left in the drawing from the printer unit 3. The recording paper after printing carried out from the printer unit 3 is discharged from the left side surface of the facsimile main body 1 in the drawing. In the document flow b during document reading, the document is read while being carried into the document reading unit 4 from the right side in the drawing, and the read document is discharged from the left side surface in the figure of the facsimile body 1.

[0006]

Since the facsimile apparatus having the above-mentioned electrophotographic recording system is provided with the printer section 3 in which the developing section 6 and the fixing section 7 are arranged in parallel, the fixing is performed above the printer section 3. The document reading section 4 is arranged at a predetermined interval so as to eliminate the thermal influence of the section 7 and the like. Therefore, the height of the facsimile main body 1 becomes high, and the document reading section 4 and the operation surface section 5 are arranged at a high position above the facsimile main body 1. Therefore, there is a problem in that handling such as setting a document on the document reading unit 4 and key input operation on the operation surface unit 5 is poor.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and in a facsimile apparatus adopting an electrophotographic recording method, the height of the main body of the facsimile is suppressed to a low level by taking thermal measures, and the original reading unit The purpose of this is to improve the handleability of the original set on the scanner and the operation section on the top of the facsimile body.

[0008]

According to the present invention, there is provided an electrophotographic apparatus having a facsimile main body and a developing section and a fixing section along a printing passage which is disposed in the facsimile main body and communicates with a discharge port on a side surface of the facsimile main body. A recording type printer unit, a document reading unit disposed above the printing passage between the fixing unit and the discharge port of the printer unit and on the side of the fixing unit, and the printer unit and the document reading unit. And a shielding portion for shielding the space.

[0009]

According to the present invention, since the document reading section is disposed above the printing passage between the fixing section and the discharge port of the printer section and on the side of the fixing section, the height of the facsimile main body can be kept low. The manuscript can be easily set on the manuscript reading unit and the operation unit on the upper surface of the facsimile body can be easily operated. further,
Placing the document reading unit on the side of the fixing unit reduces the influence of heat on the document reading unit by blocking the space between the document reading unit and the fixing unit with the shielding unit because the fixing unit becomes hot. To do.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The configuration of an embodiment of the facsimile apparatus of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 2 shows the appearance of the facsimile machine.
Is a facsimile main body, and the facsimile main body 11 includes a lower case 12, an upper case 13, upper covers 14a and 14b, and a rear cover 15 (shown in FIG. 1). The surfaces 16a and 16b are formed in a substantially wedge shape.

The lower case 12 has a concave recording paper storage portion 21 having a lower surface and front and rear surfaces opened at the center of the bottom surface, and rubber legs 22 are attached to the four corners of the bottom surface.

The upper case 13 has an upper and lower surface opened, and the upper surface is formed in a frame shape in which the front portion is low and the rear portion is high. A document and recording paper outlet 23 is formed in the center of the front surface of the upper case 13.

The upper surface covers 14a and 14b are rear surface upper surface covers than the inclination angle of the inclined surface 16a of the front upper surface cover 14a.
The inclination angle of the inclined surface 16b of 14b is formed to be large.
The front top cover 14a is a support shaft on the front end side of the upper case 13.
It is mounted rotatably forward from a position shown in the drawing which covers the upper surface of the upper case 13, with 24 (shown in FIG. 1) as a fulcrum. The upper cover 14b on the rear side is attached rotatably rearward from a position shown in the drawing which covers the upper surface of the upper case 13 with a support shaft 25 (shown in FIG. 1) on the rear side of the upper case 13 as a fulcrum.

The operation portion 26 is provided on the upper surface of the front side upper surface cover 14a.
Are formed. The operation unit 26 is provided with a display 27, a ten-key pad 28, a one-touch dial key 29, a start key 30, and the like. These indicators 27 and keys 28-
The operation unit main body 31 (shown in FIG. 1) of 30 is a front side top cover 14
It is attached to the back of a.

A document tray 32 is integrally formed on the rear side upper cover 14b. This document tray 32 is provided with a document placing surface portion 33 that is inclined so as to enter from the rear end portion of the rear side upper surface cover 14b toward the front and below the upper surface of the rear side upper surface cover 14b. Between the leading edge of 33 and the front edge 34 of the rear top cover 14b, the document insertion slot 35
Are formed. Paper guides 36 having a substantially L-shaped cross section for guiding both sides of the document are attached to both sides of the upper surface of the document placement surface portion 33 so as to be slidable in the left-right direction. Also, it is slid in the left and right directions in a relative and opposite direction synchronously by an interlocking mechanism (not shown).

A mounting portion 37 is attached to the left side portion of the upper case 13, and a handset 38 is mounted on the mounting portion 37.

Next, FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of the internal structure of the facsimile apparatus. A recording paper storage section 21 is arranged at the bottom of the facsimile main body 11, and a printer section is provided above the recording paper storage section 21 on the rear side. A document reading unit 42 is provided on the front side while 41 is provided.

The recording paper storage portion 21 is formed by the upper wall portion 51 and the side wall portions 52 of the lower case 12 so that the lower surface and front and rear surfaces are open, and the rear surface cover 15 is disposed on the rear surface. .

A pickup roller 53 is supported by a support shaft 54 on the upper rear side of the recording paper storage portion 21, and the pickup roller 53 is formed in a fan shape having a cutout portion 55 on its peripheral surface. The state of facing downward is the standby position, and the sheet is driven one rotation in the counterclockwise direction in the drawing during sheet feeding.

At the rear of the facsimile main body 11, there is provided a U-turn transport path 56 for transporting the recording paper from the upper rear side of the recording paper storage unit 21 toward the printer unit 41. The U-turn transport path 56 includes a guide plate 57 on one side and a rear surface cover 15 on the other side.
It is formed between the guide portion 64 and the guide plate 58. The transport roller 59 is provided on one side of the starting end of the U-turn transport path 56.
A pinch roller 60, which is arranged in pressure contact with the conveying roller 59, is rotatably attached to the rear cover 15 on the other side of the starting end of the U-turn conveying path 56.

The rear cover 15 has a rib 61 projectingly formed on the inner surface side thereof. The rear cover 15 is rotatable about a supporting shaft 62 provided on the rib 61 as a fulcrum between a closed position shown in the figure and an open position tilted rearward. Paper feed cassette 111, which will be described later, at a position lower than 62
An abutting portion 63 with which the rear surface abuts is formed. A guide portion 64 that constitutes the other side of the starting end of the U-turn conveying path 56 is formed on the rib 61 of the rear surface cover 15, and the pinch roller 60 is rotatably attached.

A print path 73 is formed from the U-turn transport path 56 toward the front discharge port 23 for passing the recording paper through the developing section 71 and the fixing section 72 of the printer section 41.

The developing unit 71 of the printer unit 41 is a photosensitive drum 74.
A charge is applied to the outer peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 74 by a charger 75, and a laser beam is emitted from the optical system unit 76 to the outer peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 74 to form an electrostatic latent image of a recording pattern. Toner is attached to the photosensitive drum 74 by the developing unit 77.
The toner image adhered to is transferred onto recording paper by the transfer device 78. At the entrance of the developing unit 71, a conveying roller 79 and a pinch roller 80 that comes into pressure contact with the conveying roller 79 are arranged.

The fixing section 72 presses the recording paper on which the toner is attached to the heated fixing roller 81 by the pinch roller 82 to fix the toner on the paper. At the exit of the fixing unit 72, a carry-out roller 83 and a pinch roller 84 that comes into pressure contact with the carry-out roller 83 are arranged.

The optical system unit 76 includes a facsimile main body 11
The rear side of the facsimile main body 11 is disposed at the substantially highest part of the height dimension, and the polygon mirror 86 deflects and controls the laser beam emitted from the laser emitter 85. The laser beam is emitted from the laser emitting section 88 to the photosensitive drum 74 via the plurality of mirrors 87. The laser emitting unit 88 is arranged at the position where the height of the facsimile body 11 is the highest, and a required laser irradiation distance is secured between the laser emitting unit 88 and the photosensitive drum 74.

A printing passage 73 from the fixing portion 72 to the discharge port 23 is formed between a recording paper guide plate portion 92c on the upper side, which will be described later, and a lower guide plate 89.

Next, the document reading section 42 is disposed above the printing passage 73 between the fixing section 72 of the printer section 41 and the discharge port 23 and on the front side of the fixing section 72, and has a document insertion opening. A document passage 91 is formed from 35 to the front discharge port 23.

A document guide body 92 having a document guide plate portion 92a continuous with the front end of the document placing surface portion 33 of the document tray 32 is provided at the starting end side of the document passage 91. A pull-in roller 93 and a separating plate 94 are arranged at the start end of the document passage 91. The sheets are drawn one by one into the original passage 91. Further, in the middle of the document passage 91, a reading section 96 having the reading surface 95 as an upper surface is provided.
A white roller 97 that conveys the original while pressing the original against the reading surface 95 of the reading unit 96 is provided. Before and after the reading position by the reading unit 96, a pair of conveying rollers 98 are arranged.

The document guide body 92 is formed from a material having a heat insulating property along the left-right width direction of the facsimile main body 11, and projects substantially vertically from the front end of the document guide plate portion 92a so as to protrude downward from the printer portion 41. A shielding portion 92b that shields between the fixing portion 72 and the document reading portion 42 is integrally formed, and a recording paper guide plate portion 92c that guides the recording paper by protruding forward from the lower end of the shielding portion 92b in parallel with the guide plate 89. Are integrally formed.

The upper case 13 is provided at the rear of the printer unit 41.
A substrate 101, on which electric components such as a control circuit having a CPU, a ROM and a RAM are mounted, is provided facing the rear surface.

Further, the recording paper storage section of the facsimile main body 11
A paper feed cassette 111 for storing the recording paper P is detachably attached to the recording paper storage unit 21 through the front surface thereof. This paper feed cassette 111 is formed in a rectangular frame shape for accommodating a plurality of recording papers P in a laminated state from a bottom surface portion 112, both side surface portions 113, a front surface portion 114 and a rear surface portion 115, and a facsimile is formed on the front surface thereof. A handle portion 116 having a width substantially the same as the lateral width of the main body 11 is formed to project. Then, guide protrusions (not shown) are formed on the outer surfaces of the side surface portions 113, and the guide protrusions slide on guide groove portions (not shown) formed along the front-rear direction on the wall portions 52 on both sides of the recording paper storage portion 21. By engaging as much as possible, the paper feed cassette 111 is horizontally inserted and removed in the front-rear direction. Further, the paper feed cassette 111 is provided with a locking structure that locks the paper feed cassette 111 at the most inserted position in the recording paper storage portion 21.

A push-up plate 117 for supporting the bottom surface of the recording paper P is arranged at the bottom of the paper feed cassette 111, and the front end side of the push-up plate 117 is swingably supported at a fulcrum portion (not shown), and the rear end side. Is biased upward by a spring 118.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.

In the facsimile apparatus according to the present embodiment, the facsimile main body 11 is formed into a substantially wedge shape with a front lower portion and a higher rear portion, and the document tray 32 is arranged on the rear side by arranging the respective components as described above. It is formed on the top cover 14b so that it does not protrude from the facsimile body 11, and the recording paper P and originals are discharged from the discharge port 23 at the lower position on the front surface of the facsimile body 11 without the need for a tray, and the operation portion 26 can be easily front surface. Since it is arranged on the front-side inclined surface 16a that can be operated, it can be used by being placed in the inner corner of the upper surface of the office desk as a tabletop type.

The recording paper P is stored on the push-up plate 117 of the paper feed cassette 111, and the paper feed cassette 111 is inserted into the recording paper storage portion 21 of the facsimile main body 11 from the front. With the insertion of the paper feed cassette 111, the abutting portion 63 of the rear cover 15 is pushed rearward by the rear surface portion 115 of the paper feed cassette 111 to move the rear cover 15 to the closed position and hold it. Further, when the paper feed cassette 111 is inserted to a predetermined insertion position in the recording paper storage unit 21, the paper feed cassette 111 is locked by the locking structure.

The recording paper P in the paper feed cassette 111 is pushed up by the spring 118 via the push-up plate 117. However, since the pickup roller 53 faces the notch 55 downward, Do not touch.

Then, during the printing operation, the pickup roller 53 is rotationally driven, and the uppermost recording paper P in the paper feed cassette 111 is sent out to the entrance of the U-turn conveyance path 56, and the conveyance roller 59 and the pickup roller 60 are fed. U sandwiched between
It is taken into the turn transfer path 56 and transferred. When the conveyance roller 59 starts to convey the recording paper P, the notch 55 of the pickup roller 53 faces the recording paper P, and the recording paper P
Is switched to the transport roller 59 side.

The recording paper conveyed to the printing passage 73 through the U-turn conveying passage 56 has toner transferred at the developing portion 71 of the printer portion 41 and fixed at the fixing portion 72, and then the guide plate 89 and the original document. It is carried out toward the discharge port 23 through the space between the guide body 92 and the recording paper guide plate portion 92c, and the printing surface is the upper surface on the office desk surface on which the facsimile main body 11 in front of the facsimile main body 11 is placed. It is discharged as (face up).

When a paper jam occurs in the U-turn transport path 56, the paper feed cassette 111 is moved to the recording paper storage section 21.
From the front to allow the rear cover 15 to be opened, and the user himself or herself may fold the rear cover 15 rearward to open it, or it may be automatically collapsed rearward by a biasing force such as a spring to release the pinch roller 60. Moves away from the transport roller 59.
Therefore, the paper jam is cleared by removing the recording paper P from the open portion of the rear cover 15. If paper jams occur in the developing section 71 and the fixing section 72 of the print path 73, open the rear top cover 14b rearward and clear the paper jam from the open part of the rear top cover 14b. The paper jam is cleared by removing the generated recording paper P.

Next, at the time of reading the original, the paper guides 36 on both the left and right sides of the original tray 32 are aligned with the lateral width of the original, and the original is read between the paper guides 36 with its reading surface facing down (face down).
As a result, the front side of the document is inserted into the document insertion port 35, and the rear end side is placed on the document placing surface part 33 of the document tray 32 with the face of the document placed facedown. The leading edge of the document is guided between the drawing roller 93 and the separating plate 94 through the document guide plate portion 92a of the document guide body 92.

When the document reading operation is started, the pull-in roller 93 is rotated to pull the documents one by one into the document passage 91, and the document is carried to a reading position between the reading unit 96 and the white roller 97. It At the reading position, the white roller 97 conveys the original while pressing it against the reading surface 95 of the reading unit 96, and the reading unit 96 reads the original. The original document which has passed the reading position is discharged through the discharge port 23 onto the office desk surface in front of the facsimile main body 11 on which the facsimile main body 11 is placed.

When a document jam occurs in the document passage 91 or when maintenance of the document reading section 42 or the like is performed,
The front top cover 14a is opened forward to clear paper jams and perform maintenance.

As described above, the document reading unit 42 is the printer unit.
It is arranged above the printing passage 73 between the fixing unit 72 of 41 and the discharge port 23 and on the front side of the fixing unit 72. Since the fixing roller 81 of the fixing unit 72 becomes high in temperature, it is affected by heat. While preventing this, the space between the document reading unit 42 and the fixing unit 72 is shielded by a shielding unit 92b formed integrally with the document guide body 92, so that the influence of heat on the document reading unit 42 can be reduced, and the document guide body 92 Since the recording paper guide plate portion 92c formed integrally with the recording paper P is also used as a guide member for the upper surface of the recording paper P, the height of the front side of the facsimile main body 11 can be lowered, and the front side of the facsimile main body 11 is low and the rear side of the main body is low. It can be made into a wedge shape with a high front falling shape. From these elements, it is possible to easily set a document on the document reading unit 42 and to operate the operation unit 26 provided on the front portion of the upper surface of the facsimile main body 11, and even in a facsimile apparatus adopting an electrophotographic recording system, Since the height of the front side can be lowered, it can be used as a small tabletop type that is placed on an office desk or the like.

Next, FIG. 3 shows another embodiment of the present invention.
In this embodiment, the document guide plate 92 of the document guide body 92a
A wall portion 92d is integrally formed so as to cover the rear surface of the fixing portion 72 from the upper end of the document guide plate portion 92a, the shielding portion 92b and the wall portion.
A space portion 121 for accommodating the fixing portion 72 is formed in the entire left and right width areas of the facsimile main body 11 by 92d. Further, an exhaust port (not shown) is formed on the side of the facsimile body 11 so as to communicate the space 121 with the outside and the space
An exhaust fan 122 for forcibly exhausting the air inside 121 is installed.

In this embodiment, the air warmed by the heat generated from the fixing section 72 stays in the space 121, and the warm air staying in the space 121 is exhausted by the exhaust fan 122.
Is discharged to the outside of the facsimile main body 11. Therefore, the influence of heat from the fixing unit 72 on the document reading unit 42 is further reduced.

[0047]

According to the present invention, the document reading unit is arranged above the printing passage between the fixing unit and the discharge port of the printer unit and on the side of the fixing unit, and the document reading unit and the fixing unit are provided. Since the shielding part is placed between the two, the height of the main body of the facsimile can be kept low, and it is easy to set the original on the original reading part and operate the operation part on the top of the main body of the facsimile. Therefore, the influence of heat on the document reading unit can be reduced.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an embodiment of a facsimile apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the above embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing another embodiment of the facsimile apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a conventional facsimile apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 11 Facsimile body 23 Ejection port 41 Printer section 42 Original reading section 71 Developing section 72 Fixing section 73 Printing path 92b Shielding section

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A facsimile main body, and an electrophotographic recording type printer section disposed in the facsimile main body and having a developing section and a fixing section along a print path communicating with a discharge port on a side surface of the facsimile main body, A document reading unit disposed above the printing passage between the fixing unit and the discharge port of the printer unit and on the side of the fixing unit; and a shielding unit that shields between the printer unit and the document reading unit. A facsimile machine characterized by being provided.